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Well said Angelina. A minister ounce told me that a person asked him if "his" Church was growing. The minister said ....do you mean spiritually? End of conversation. God is not looking for nickels and noses, men do that.Angelina said:
Your full of it. The early church was persecuted by both Rome and the Jewish leaders. The proof is in how the Apostles met their end.Selene said:
I never said that it is. I said that the mustard seed analogy is applied to both growth in faith and growth in Church. There are still many people in Church who have no or little faith, and then there are some who have great faith.Angelina said:
The Roman Catholic Church was never part of the Roman Empire. Nero was never a Roman Catholic. He was a pagan.Rex said:
I agree. I walk in the Way, and I have a community in which we celebrate the breaking of bread and the Liturgy of the word. We also give personal testimonies, which we call "echos" after reading the scriptures. We do home celebrations in New Year and home preparations in which a group in the community would prepare for the Liturgy of the word or the celebration of the Eucharist. Of course, I also go to the parish, which is a much larger community. The difference between the two is that in the home celebrations, everyone had gotten to know each other and have grown to be like family. It's easier to create a family kind of atmosphere in a smaller group.Angelina said:House Churches are very much like Home Groups or cell groups to me...They have the same exciting atmosphere. I enjoy the sharing and personal testimonies, studying the word of God, breaking bread together and praying in unity. You also get to find out more about some of the Church parishioners and get to form some long lasting relationships.
Be Blessed!
Now the topic is house churches, your description is a bit different considering your faith, because this place you go to can never be considered a church can it? I mean you don't have mass or offer communion you don't or can't have a baptism in this place can you? That would be forbidden by the mother church of rome, from preforming any priestly duties without the approval of rome.Selene said:
The place we go to is a house. Whoever in the community wants to open their home for a celebration, they are welcome. Breaking bread is the same thing as the Eucharist, and we have celebrated the Eucharist in a home especially New Year's Eve. Other times, it is the Liturgy of the word that we celebrate. What we celebrated in the home is different from the large parish Church, but it has been approved by the Vatican. I have even held these celebrations in my home a few times. It was only recently that the catechesis of the Way have been approved, but the practice has been going on since 1964. Pope John Paul II was aware of the celebrations in the home since the 1960s. The Vatican approved the Statutes of the Way in the year 2008,Rex said:
Yes, it's much easier to bring non-Christian friends to our celebration of the Eucharist because the setting is small. There were 18 people in my community, but now there's only 14 of us because 4 of them moved to the United States. When we give "echos" (personal testimonies), the rule is to keep what is said in the room and not take it out. Many of the echoes are very personal in nature, and we try to avoid gossip as much as possible.Angelina said:Sounds good!
I have also noted that taking your non Christian friends along to a Home Group or house Church is a lot easier for them to adjust to rather than a Large Church where they tend to feel out of place. This is because they have to get use to the culture and Christianity does come with a culture, norms and values. In a small group setting, non believers are then more able to ask questions, where they would not have that opportunity in a Church environment.
Shalom!
